My Japanese Ray of Sunshine
by PsychicOtaku182
Summary: A collection of LinxMai one-shots maybe two-shots inspired by Kyia-nee-san's plot bunny Charlie. May contain spoilers in future chapters.
1. A picture is worth a thousand words

Charlie, Kyia-nee-san's plot bunny bit me again, numerous times, so I decided, "Why fight it?". The only reasons that I don'gt ship LinxMai myself are 1) I don't really want to share Lin with Mai who is probabaly cuter than I am and 2) I really think her personality is what is needed to turn Naru around a little. So, without further ado (and grumbling) I present LinxMai one-shots.

NOTE: These are not Betaed. They are written soley because Kyia-san can't help but send her plot bunny to me (as if my vampric plot bunny, Edgar doesn't give me enough trouble.) If this becomes anything serious, I will send it to my beta, intil then...

Disclaimer: The only thing I own are my OCs and Edgar, my vampric ninja plot bunny.

I dedicate this and all following chapters to Kyia-nee-san. I really hate Charlie, though.

* * *

It occurred to Lin that most teenagers did not look up from their book every three or four seconds, only to go back to it with

It occurred to Lin that most teenagers did not look up from their book every three or four seconds, only to go back to it with a look of deep concentration. But then, Taniyama Mai was hardly 'most teenagers'. Still, it was quite odd watching the petite brunette as she engaged in her unusual activity.

There was an odd scratching noise as well. As if a pencil were moving rapidly across a piece of paper. Perhaps Taniyama-san was writing something. He wouldn't know, as he was at a terrible vantage point to see her from.

For some unknown reason, Noll had accepted a case in Germany, in the lovely, picturesque setting of the Rhine river valley. They had stopped for lunch in a small town, Lin wasn't sure what the name was, and the group had decided to take a tour of the castle. Or at least, every one but he and Noll, that is.

Lin was actually somewhat jealous; after all, the view from where Taniyama-san was sitting had to be gorgeous. It was a little known fact, something he was most thankful for, that Lin was an art lover and a nature lover. The view from the wall would have been fantastic, a work of art done by God. But no, instead of being on the wall with Mai and the Irregulars (excluding Hara-san), he was down here, at the car, with Noll, looking at the stupid maps.

**With Mai…**

Mai looked up once again, her eyes taking in all the details of the hills, the quaint town below them, the river, and the sunlight as it poured down around them, before turning back to her sketch pad, her pencil lightly adding more details to the rough sketch. She had a picture on her camera for when she put it on canvas, but for now, her rough sketch must capture the scene.

Despite Naru's insinuations that she didn't pay attention, she actually noticed more than he did. The problem was, Mai didn't pay attention to what he might be saying, because she was studying her world, which was far more interesting.

The others stood a little further up on the wall, silently enjoying the scenery. Mai was quite thankful, because she didn't really want them to see her drawings. The pencil sketch was somewhat crude, and while Masako wasn't there to insinuate that it was crude because she had no artistic talent (a blatant lie), the others were not always careful with their words, either.

A quick glance down to where Naru and Lin-san were told Mai that it was time to go. Naru looked quite impatient to get a move on, so finishing her drawing would just have to wait.

**Later that evening…**

The Guest House they were staying in was relatively large, but like all German Guest houses, the rooms were rather small. Not that Mai minded any. She usually had to share a room with Masako and Ayako any way, and as Masako wasn't there, they had more room than usual, at least until Madoka joined them the next day.

Mai reached into her bag to pull out her leather bound journal turned sketchpad. The unlined paper and the fact that Mai rarely wrote about herself had led her to use it as a sketchpad instead. A gift for her fifteenth birthday from a friend, it contained detailed sketches of her friends and her family at SPR.

One person that she'd noticed she drew quite often was Lin-san, her tall Chinese co-worker. It wasn't a bad thing; he was an intriguing subject, and quite handsome as well, as opposed to Naru and Gene, who were both very cute. Naru, of course, would not have liked Mai's observation regarding him, but she wasn't the only one who had that thought. Keiko, Mai's best friend and dearest adversary when it came to computer games, had agreed with her when Mai pointed out that Naru, and by extension Gene, were good looking, yes, but it was a very youthful and somewhat immature good look. Lin-san was, for lack of a better description, hot. His look was that of a mature adult, which he was, as opposed to Naru's look, which was that of a young man, which physically, he was. Mai personally liked to joke that Naru was 19 going on 100 with the way he acted.

That, of course, wasn't the only thing about Lin-san that enthralled Mai. Physically, he was a good subject; tall, dark, chiseled features, enigmatic expressions, and three-piece suits. As a person, Lin-san was a mystery.

When she first met him, Lin-san had been very cold, almost hostile at times, but after their 'confrontation' at Suwa, things had changed between them. Lin-san wasn't quite as restrained around her anymore. Which meant that Mai had been quite confused for a while.

Mai had always believed that she loved Naru. When she told him, he insisted she loved Gene instead, but Gene was so similar to her, that really, as much as she adored him, she didn't love him. In the middle of her conundrum was Lin-san. She wasn't sure why she was so very comfortable around him, when before she was all but terrified of him.

Of course, in the end, Mai came to a simple conclusion. She didn't love Naru, but she didn't love Gene either. Which left the question, did she love Lin?

It was a question still unanswered, as Mai wasn't going to say anything. If Lin returned her feelings, then he would more than likely respond to her flirting, if not… oh well. At least she wouldn't have made a fool of herself.

Mai realized her sketchpad wasn't in her bag, meaning she must have left it at the Base. She slipped silently out of the room, and padded down the hall towards the stairs.

**With Lin…**

Lin sighed. It was always his job to watch the monitors at night. Heaven forbid Noll lose any of his beauty sleep to do so, and of course, Lin wasn't going to ask Taniyama-san to do it. She would of course, she had actually offered several times, but Lin just wouldn't feel comfortable letting her stay up, all by her self, in a (possibly) haunted house.

Early on, when he had first met her, Lin had found her to be annoying at best, but time marched on, and Mai became a part of his daily life.

He was generally very cold with her back then, until the Suwa case, he rarely spoke more than a few syllables to her. Their confrontation during the case had lead to an increased understanding of the girl. He still didn't know her very well, but he wasn't as guarded with her any more. Actually, he wouldn't mind getting to know her better.

The leather bound book on the table caught his eye. He had never seen it before. He picked it up gently and opened it to the first page. Taniyama-san's neat handwriting proclaimed it as Mai's sketch journal and small sketches of varying degrees of beauty covered the page. He was aware that he probably shouldn't look through it with out her permission, but he was curious as to what was in it.

Page after page, beautiful drawings of people, places, animals, things, and fantasies covered the white pages. Lin was somewhat surprised when he found sketches of Naru and the Irregulars. He was even more surprised to find sketches and studies for sketches of him. Little notes were scrawled periodically in the margins of the paper. And he read the ones on the drawings of himself.

_Lin-san is quite severe. I wonder if he dislikes me? _

_He has very dark eyes that show little emotions. (Note: after case in Suwa, eyes much more expressive)_

_Chiseled features, artist's dream model. _

_Gentleman. Quite attractive. Wouldn't mind knowing better._

She wanted to know him better? She was interested in him?

His Shiki alerted him to the fact that she was coming. He flipped to a different page, and continued looking. There was no point in hiding what he was doing when he was going to tell her any way.

Mai tapped gently on the door before opening it. She noticed the book in Lin's hand, and he was amused to note the crimson color her face became.

"Is something wrong, Taniyama-san?" He asked, calmly. She squeaked.

"No, um, can I, can I have m-my book back? Please?" She held her hands out. He stood and placed the book in one of her hands, grabbed the other hand, pulled her closer, and pecked her gently on the lips.

"Lunch, together, by the river side. What do you think, mia cara?" The foreign Italian words made Mai shiver slightly, blushing brighter than before. She understood what he was asking though, and nodded yes, before dashing up the steps to her room, leaving Lin smirking slightly in the Base.

She closed the door tight behind her, paused, opened her sketchpad to a page and noticed, in the margin, next to her notes about him, was his strong writing.

_**You're definitely attractive. Am looking forward to knowing you better, Mai-chan.**_

She blushed yet again and smiled.

This could be the start of their greatest accomplishment yet.

* * *

Yes, I know, Mai's not an artist, but for this story she is. That is why it's called fanfiction.


	2. I saw God today

I have this sort of love/hate relationship with Charlie the plot bunny. I love him, because this pairing does things that you can't do with NaruxMai, but I hate him because I prefer NaruxMai. It's quite a problem.

In case you don't notice, this fic is based off of the George Strait song "I Saw God Today" which is really cute and really fluffy in my mind and it just seemed to work for this pair.

Disclaimer: This is the last chapter I put this on. I own only my OCs, and Edgar. I do not own Ghost Hunt, or Charlie the plot bunny. Charlie belongs to Kyia-nee-san.

* * *

For the first time in just over eighteen hours, Lin exited the hospital

For the first time in just over eighteen hours, Lin exited the hospital. Mai, his wife of one year and three months exactly, had been in labor with their first child. He had spent those eighteen hours by her side, and to be honest, it was overwhelming. He needed a break and so, he walked down the street to the café. They wouldn't let him see the baby yet, anyway, and Mai was exhausted from the ordeal, so he might as well.

He was walking, not really looking at the world around him when he noticed a small flower growing up out of a crack in the sidewalk. It seemed as though it had been planted there for him, right in the shadow of the hospital. The noise and worries of the city faded away and happy laughter caught his attention. A young couple, the girl, no older than eighteen, her husband, only twenty, was walking down the sidewalk. He noticed that the girl had that glow, her shirt stretching a little over her pregnant belly, only just showing. He smiled as the couple walked to their car, and stood there for a moment, just watching the sunset, all amber and red, before heading back inside.

Once inside, he pressed his nose to the glass of the Nursery window as the Nurse showed him the little pink bundle that was his daughter. His name was written on the band around her wrist, and her little feet were covered in pink socks; so small they were almost unbelievable to him. He noticed, with a smile, that she had his nose. She stirred slightly and yawned, before opening her eyes. An even bigger smile crossed his face as he realized she had her mother's eyes. He knew his eyes were misty, he knew it. But as he looked at his little miracle, the stoic Chinese man really didn't care.

When he saw his wife holding that little pink bundle when they got home, he knew he'd hate seeing her grow up, just as much as he'd love seeing her grow up.

And as he looked down at the sleeping face of his little girl while she snuggled up in his arms, he knew, as sure as her mother had broken through to his heart, his little girl, his little Mei-ling, was going to have him wrapped around her littlest finger, and she'd never have to try.

I've been to church

_I've read the book_

_I know He's here, but I don't look_

_Near as often as I should_

_Yeah, I know I should_

_His fingerprints are everywhere_

_I'd just slow down to stop and stare_

_Opened my eyes and man I swear_

_I saw God today_


	3. A Taste of Home

Ah! Evil plot bunnies keep biting me! I'm sure you're all wondering (or at least, those of you who read my fictions) what about the others! What about the stories. Don't worry, these are written solely because a LinxMai centric plot bunny keeps biting me. I'm sending him back to Kyia-nee-san for a short time, because the moment her next chapter of Dancing Queen, or some other LinxMai work comes out, Charlie will probably bite me again.

Oh well.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Mai-san, you wouldn't happen to know if there are any good Chinese restaurants in the area, would you

"Mai-san, you wouldn't happen to know if there are any good Chinese restaurants in the area, would you?" Lin asked, tapping his pencil on his desk. Mai, who was delivering his tea, paused.

"Mandarin or Cantonese?" She asked, folding the tray against her side.

"Cantonese, preferably. Mandarin if there's nothing else."

"Um, well, there are several restaurants in the area that serve Cantonese style food. I personally don't know how authentic they are; after all, they are run by Japanese chefs so… but there is a teahouse down the road from my apartment building. It's run by a couple from Hong Kong. Their twins are in my grade at school, that's how I know about it." She said, tugging on a lock of hair.

"Why wouldn't you have known about it?"

"Well, for one thing, I don't eat out much. For another, it doesn't really look like a place to eat from the outside. It's a plain blue building. The last thing that was in it was a hardware store, and it went out of business several years ago, because it's off the main road. The teahouse is doing well, though. It has a small, but dedicated cliental."

"How often do you, personal, eat there." He asked.

"Um, maybe once a month. I like it because I can get a lot of food for a low price. You buy the dumplings in sets of like three steamer trays, and each tray has four or five dumpling in it, depending on how big they are. It's a pretty decent meal. Regular price is about 250 yen for what I get, which is one order of the veggie dumplings and tea." Mai smiled at the far away look in Lin-san's eyes.

"Where is this place?" He asked, coming, albeit somewhat reluctantly, back to earth.

"It's on the way to my apartment building. You literally drive right past it on the way to my place."

"How do you feel about dumplings for dinner?"

"Okay. Why?" She asked, tugging on her hair as she bit her lip in a distracting manner.

"Well, I had planned on offering you a ride to begin with, as your apartment is on the way to mine, and I don't think you should be walking home after dark, so we could stop there and have dinner. My treat, or you could pay for your food if that makes you more comfortable." Lin said, smiling gently at the petite, but attractive part-timer.

"Okay!" She smiled. She hadn't said anything, so as long as she let him get the pay tab, he could pick up the bill.

"Mai, tea!" Naru's voice cut in, ruining a nice moment with his usual flare.

"Hai!" Mai called, before muttering, "Stupid, self-righteous, tea-obsessed, ego-maniac!" as she stomped out of Lin's office into the kitchenette.

Lin smiled. Although he rarely vocalized it, he cared a great deal for Mai. More than he usually did for a friend. But that wasn't surprising. Not really, anyway. Mai was adorable. Driving her home was something the men of SPR took turns doing, though Mai didn't know it, merely to ensure, for their peace of mind, her well being.

Lin stopped typing. It seemed a little different for him, the effect she had on him. Of course, the others might not say anything about it, for fear of being laughed at, but it didn't seem likely. The simple fact was, Mai was so adorable and so sweet, it was hard not to love her.

And in his case, it seemed to be a little more than brotherly affection towards her. Every time she bit her bottom lip he just wanted to…

Best leave that thought unfinished.

It wasn't that those thoughts were bad; it was that, if acted out, could end his friendship with the cheerful teen. Their friendship was already somewhat tense due to teasing from the Monk and Miko after Mai kissed his cheek once. Apparently, a kiss on the cheek was a big deal in Japan. This, he thought, was proof he'd lived in England to long, if something held as intimate, not only to the Japanese, but to the Chinese as well, seemed perfectly normal.

Not that Mai found it to be intimate, but then, her school was a hot bed for transfer students, including a French girl who kissed her friends cheeks in greeting. And of course, Mai was her friend. Mai was every ones friend, to a certain extent.

"Lin-nii-san, are you ready to go?" Mai asked. Lin looked up. Was it really six o'clock already. A glance at his watch confirmed it.

"Give me a minute to shut everything down, and I'll be ready." He said, sighing as he stood up. Really, he shouldn't contemplate his relationship with Mai during work hours; he didn't get anything done when he did.

Five minutes later saw the two of them standing outside a nondescript building, painted a pleasant navy color with a lighter shade of blue for the shutters that were closed over the windows. A small sign declared it, in Japanese and Chinese, as Treasure Tea-house.

"Come on, we won't be able to get a table if we don't get in there now. Every one will be here in about five minutes!" Mai said, dragging him in by the hand.

A little bell rang out to signal their arrival and two teens came out of the back.

"Mai!"

"Mai-chan!" They called. A boy, about 5'9" tall, with close cut black hair and gray eyes wearing a blue polo and black slacks wiped a table off for them, while a girl, 5'3" with long black hair pulled into a French braid and blue-gray eyes hugged Mai before turning her eyes to Lin who suddenly felt like a tiger was watching him.

"Mai, who is this gorgeous specimen of a man?" the girl asked, whispering in Mai's ear. "Is he yours? Can I have him?" She asked, confirming Lin's sinking suspicion that she thought he was attractive.

"Cho, this is Lin, my co-worker. Lin-nii-san, this is Liang Cho, and her brother, Dehua. Their parents own the restaurant." Mai said, stepping squarely on Cho's foot.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Dehua said, bowing slightly, nudging his sister, who was glaring at Mai, to do the same. Lin bowed in return. "I apologize for my twin. She's a little…intense at times." Dehua said, cringing as the girls glared at one another.

In the time this exchange took, people had started to flood in, and Mai whipped out a newspaper and whopped a college student over the head as he tried to take their table. He glared at Mai in a joking manner before moving off.

"He irritates me." She said with a shrug at Lin's inquisitive look. He nodded mutely.

"Ah! Mai-chan! It's good to see you! I didn't think you'd be coming back this month. You need to eat more, I keep telling you that. Oh! And who is this handsome fellow?" A motherly looking woman who reminded Lin of his mother swooped down at their table, carrying a pot of hot water and two cups with tealeaves in them.

"Kueng-san, this is my co-worker, Lin-san. He was giving me a ride home and we decided to stop and have dinner. He's from Hong Kong, so…" Mai smiled, leaving the sentence hanging. Kueng-san smiled.

"I hope the twins behaved themselves?"

"They did." Mai smiled back, and Lin was reminded eerily of Yasuhara's trademark smile.

"Good. So, tell me," She said, turning her attention to him, "do you plan on taking Mai out more often?" the smile she gave him was defiantly Yasuhara's. Mai blushed crimson and squeaked in an adorable manner.

"Perhaps." He said, standing up. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get the dumplings. Vegetable, right Mai-chan?" He asked, deliberately being informal. She blushed even deeper before nodding. Kueng-san smiled again before zipping off to get more tea.

Lin headed to the back where the dumplings were. With the practiced ease of some one used to fighting for food in a teahouse, Lin quickly secured three things of vegetable dumpling and made his way back to the table, no worse for the fighting than a scratch mark on his cheek from a particularly determined woman, now glaring at him from her table while eating her own veggie dumplings.

He placed them on the table, the pay sheet tucked in his pocket.

"Dig in." He said, opening the lid of the steamer and placing three dumplings on his plate. Mai stared a moment.

"What happened?" She asked, placing a few on her plate and gesturing to his scratched cheek.

"Some one was very persistent about these dumplings. Unfortunately for them, I was more so, because I haven't had real Cantonese food since the last time I visited my parents in Surrey." He said, before taking a bite of one.

Mai shrugged and started on her own.

Twenty minutes later, Lin ushered a protesting Mai out the door. He had paid for both of them, and Mai was insisting he allow her to pay him back. He refused, and eventually, that was the end of their argument, which ended right as they got to Mai's door.

Lin was about to leave when she grabbed his arm and hauled him into her apartment with surprising strength for someone so small.

"We need to at least clean that scratch, and probably put a bandage or something on it." She said, leaving him standing in the hallway as she headed to the bathroom for the first aid kit. "Take your shoes off, and go sit on the couch, and don't worry, the cat doesn't bite." She yelled back at him.

He complied quickly and sat down on the comfortable, overstuffed blue couch, the other end of which was occupied by a black cat with one eye.

"His name is Edgar. I found him at a shelter," she said, sitting down in front of him on the coffee table, "he was going to be destroyed if he wasn't adopted within three days, so I brought him home. I spent hours looking for a name for him, when I came across a story by Edgar Allen Poe called 'The Black Cat' and so, he was dubbed Edgar." She finished her story and placed a small bandage over the scratch. "There we go, all finished." She smiled.

"Thank you." He said, standing up, before scratching Edgar's head and being rewarded with a content purr.

"He likes you. You should feel lucky. He doesn't like many people." She said, as she walked with him to the front door.

"Indeed. I like him, as well. Though I do prefer the company of his owner, who is more talkative." He smiled. Mai blushed, before standing on tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Thank you for dinner" She said shyly.

"You're welcome." He said. She went to kiss him on the cheek again, only this time; he turned his head, not realizing she was about to kiss his cheek. Their lips met. Their eyes closed, and for a brief moment, that was all there was to the world. But the kiss ended and Mai, blushing and stammering, bid Lin a good night.

* * *

For those of you wondering, this takes place after the end of the Manga, Mai is a Senior, and as for her calling Lin 'Nii-san' I figured it would be endearing, but distant enough for the two of them to be comfortable. Why is Lin calling her by her given name then? Because this is Mai, she wants him to call her by her given name.


	4. Arrguments and Reconcilliations

Stupid plot bunnies! They won't let me fifnish what I want to finish.

Aki-nee-chan, please enjoy.

P.s. 'Wo ai ni' means 'I love you' in Chinese

'Ashiteru' is 'I love you' in Japanese

* * *

"Arrogant jerk!" Mai cried, stomping into the kitchenette.

"Impudent brat!" Lin's voice followed her, just as angry and frustrated as her own, as he slammed the door to his office behind him, leaving Naru and the Irregulars stunned and confused, having just came in to catch the tail end of an argument between the two people least likely to talk to one another, much less argue.

_Flashback…_

"I'm going out for lunch." Naru said, as he tugged his coat on.

"Alright. Be careful!" Mai called from where she was washing dishes in the kitchen.

"Mm." Lin's monosyllabic reply didn't surprise Naru in the least, and with that, he opened the door to his office and stepped out onto the street. Lin waited five minutes to ensure his charge was not returning to step out into the office.

"Would you like some tea?" Mai's cheerful voice rang out before he could say anything. He stood mute for a moment before realizing that she was waiting for an answer. He nodded and sat down on one of the couches.

It was uncommon for he and Mai to be left alone by Naru, for two reasons. One, he was afraid that, if left to themselves, his assistants might kill each other, and two, deep down, Naru did have feelings for Mai, he didn't want to risk Lin taking her from him.

As it was, both of these fears were unnecessary. For one thing, Lin was already dating Mai, who certainly had never belonged to Naru, though she had fancied him once, and two; though they did occasionally disagree with each other, they had never yet come to violence, and Lin could never hurt Mai. Not physically, at least.

Unfortunately, Lin could, and did, hurt Mai emotionally, though he was rarely aware of it. Mai was usually able to just let it go, after advising him to not mention it again, but this time…not so much. That was why Lin was so unsure as to what to say. Mai had been somewhat colder these past few days, and he really wasn't sure why. He thought back and could find nothing that would upset her. Truthfully, he was quite confused.

He was also jealous. Since whatever had happened, happened, Mai had been more attentive to Naru, much like she had been before her confession and subsequent rebuff. Lin had begun, more or less, to think of her as being his, and such a threat as was perceived was not welcomed at all.

"Here you go, Long Jing with honey instead of sugar." Mai said, setting the cup down. He thanked her mutely. Mai had remembered that he preferred honey in his tea to sugar, which was a good sign, right?

"Mai, is, is something-wrong?" He asked hesitantly, watching his girlfriend carefully for any signs of discomfort.

"What do you mean?" She asked, pausing and turning around to look at him.

"Well, you've been a bit more-distant- than usual, and your acting a little bit more like what you used to, before- you know…" Lin trailed off. Mai's previous affections towards Naru were a touchy subject to both of them, though more so to him than her.

"I hadn't noticed." She said, nonchalantly. This sent alarm bells off. Mai was never so nonchalant about her former infatuations unless she was upset with him and desired to 'even the score' as it were.

Lin thought back. He hadn't mentioned any of his previous girlfriends, had he? That was usually when Mai played such a card as this with him, but no, he hadn't mentioned any of them. So what was it?

"Mai, if you're upset with me, you really have to let me know, I'm not a mind reader." He said, eyeing her warily. This was usually when she became angry and defensive, neither of which he liked much. Mai was much better suited to smiles and laughter than scowls and glares.

"Why on earth should I be upset with you, Koujo? I'm merely trying to keep the others from being suspicious of our relationship, which is what you want, is it not?" Worse that crying or glaring, Lin decided, was Mai using what he said against him. It wasn't as though he didn't want them to know about the relationship so much as he didn't think it was any of their business, and usually, Mai agreed. Actually, Mai had always agreed to not mention it to them, or to arouse their suspicions. So why…?

"You've never had a problem with it until now. If you really want to tell them…"

"That's not the problem!" Mai all but growled as she turned back to him from the bookcase.

"Then what is?" He cried exasperatedly. He didn't like these games, if something was wrong; she needed to just say it.

"The problem is that every time you go to England to see your mother, she sets you up on blind dates, sometimes a different girl every night your there! And then, you come home and I have to hear about it! I don't want to know that you went to such-and-such a restaurant with so-and-so, or that so-and-so likes such-and-such, or anything else about them for that matter!"

"You asked about my trip!"

"Yes! I asked about your trip! Not the blind dates! I want to know how your family is, what you did together, how your friends in England are, if you went to see any rugby matches! I don't want to know about the girls your mother picked out!" She cried. Lin wasn't really sure where this argument, for it was becoming an argument, was heading, but really, he couldn't stop himself.

"What's so horrible about mentioning everything?" He asked, truly clueless.

"Because you don't just mention it! You go on-and-on about it! I've gotten to the point where I don't want to ask you at all! You even mention it in your emails! I ask how's your day going, you say great, but mom's set me up on another blind date! And then, you tell me her name and where you're going!"

"Are you telling me you don't want me to be honest and tell you what's going on?" He asked incredulously.

"No! Of course not! I just don't want so many details! It's bad enough I know your mother's going to try to set you up with some one, I really don't want to know who with! I mean, look at this from my point of view, once every two or three months you go to see your family in England. While your there, your mother is setting you up on dates with attractive women that she likes and approves of, and I have to hear about it! How would you feel if every two months or so, I was going to a foreign country to see family, and while I was there, I was being set up by this family, with hot guys that they like?" A part of Lin cringed, he understood her complaint much better now, and the other part just couldn't shut up.

"Well it's not exactly a problem, is it? You don't have family in a foreign country." He said, subconsciously aware that it probably wasn't a smart thing to say, however her comment about 'hot guys' had awoken his jealousy and he wasn't really able to think straight.

"That's not the point! You're always so protective and possessive of me; you wouldn't really like any, now would you? Look, all I want is for you to maybe drop a few hints to your mother. I'm not saying you should tell her, but let her know you have someone here that your interested in, or do something to make her stop, or don't tell me! I know she sets you up with different women, I don't need to know about them!" She cried. She knew that too much more of this and she'd be sobbing. It had never been this difficult to talk to Lin; he'd never been this-detached from everything.

"What are you suggesting I tell her, 'Mom, I'm dating someone, please stop setting me up with people'? She'll want more information and I really don't want to have to listen to her going on and on about when I'm going to get married and have kids!" Lin asked, growing irritated.

"No! Just, I don't know! You know her better than I do, Heck; I've never even met the woman! I'm just asking you to cut back on the details!" A lone tear slipped out but neither one noticed it.

"Why, are you jealous?"

"Yes! Damn it! Yes! I'm jealous! Okay?" She nearly screamed at him.

"Oh, so you're allowed to be jealous but not me?"  
"No! That's just it! You never have any reason to be jealous! I don't flirt with other guys, I don't go out on blind dates with other guys, and I don't have any family to impress, it's just me! But you do have family to impress and you do go out on blind dates with women that they like! What am I supposed to feel about this?"

"I really don't know but it's really irritating, talking about this now!"

"You're the one who brought it up! I was just going to calm down and ignore it!"

"And what does that solve?" He asked, "Does it make you feel any better about being a hypocrite?"

"Arrogant Jerk!" She cried, stomping into the kitchenette.

"Impudent brat!" He called back, slamming the door to his office behind him, unaware of the people who just walked in.

_End flashback…_

So now Lin sat at his desk, typing away at his computer, thinking the argument back over. Really, some of it just didn't make sense to him, the ending especially. It was so abrupt. But then, Mai often closed doors in his face when she was upset. It usually meant that the argument had reached a point where she was frightened by her reaction and decided that she needed to calm down.

Thinking about it only upset him more. Really, most of what he said was awful. He didn't mean it, of course, but his temper, combined with jealousy and her being upset meant that he wasn't really thinking. He actually lost control in an argument with Mai. That had never happened before. Before it had always just been her yelling or crying, but this time even he was shouting.

She hadn't cried at all during the argument either, did she?

He thought hard. Perhaps she had, and he just hadn't noticed. Her eyes had been full of tears most of the time, but he hadn't seen any fall.

"I'm going home for the day! Bye." Mai's voice rang out. It was rare that Mai would leave early, or just say she was leaving and go, as the bell on the office door indicated, but she did it today.

Lin cringed. She was obviously upset, and he had caused it. He shut down his computer and left. He had better start working on his apology.

It was a few minutes later that Lin realized something. Mai hadn't headed in the direction of her apartment when she left. He was walking towards the shopping district, in the opposite direction of her apartment and there were her footsteps, going in the same direction as he was walking. He followed them to a café where Mai sat down with a cup of hot chocolate.

It felt odd, watching her drink hot coco while he stood outside in the snow. Surreal almost. For a moment, he was back to before they started dating. It was a day just like this. It even had an argument between them.

_Flashback…_

"Lin, do you think we should put up a Christmas tree?" Lin paused his typing. Taniyama Mai rarely ever asked for his opinion.

"No." He said, as he resumed work.

"Eh? Why not?" She asked, still standing there and looking cute.

"Because Naru's just going to tell you to take it down anyway." Lin answered as he continued typing.

"I don't really care what Naru thinks about it, he's being ridiculous about everything. I asked what you thought of it. Your opinion not what Naru will do." She said crossly.

"I don't see any reason why you shouldn't put a tree up. However, you should take Naru into account."

"I did, but Naru isn't going to change his tune. He hates having a Christmas tree in the office, but he's never going to give me a good reason as to why I shouldn't put one up. Until he does, I'm just going to ignore him. Maybe he'll learn that people need a reason sometimes." She said, cringing at the thought of Naru. "Anyway, do you want to help me set it up? Last year I was on my own and it was kind of hard."

"No, thank you. I'd rather not waste my day…" Lin paused, waste was a harsh word, but that was how he felt about it, wasn't it?

"Well," Mai's voice cut through his thoughts. "I'm sorry if helping me is a waste of your valuable time." She huffed and walked out of his office.

"Arrogant jerk." He heard her mumble as she walked out.

"Impudent brat." He muttered in answering, though it was devoid of the bite that her's contained.

"I'm leaving!" She called a few minutes later, and without waiting for an answer, the bell on the door rang, saying she'd left.

Lin walked out a few minutes later and into Shibuya. Taniyama-san's footprints flowed in the same direction he was going though the snow. They lead to a small café where she had just walked in. She was waiting in line to order her something and he decided to apologize for earlier. He hadn't meant for it to come across as though it was a waste of time to help her, he had just meant that spending all day in the office, no matter what he was doing, seemed like a waste.

"I'd like one hot chocolate with no marshmallows and extra whipped cream, please." Mai said. Lin smiled at how cute she looked with snow still clinging to her chocolate colored hair.

"Will that be all?" The boy behind the counter asked as his eyes roamed Mai's body, though she was unaware of it.

"No, make that two hot chocolates, no marshmallows, extra whipped cream." Lin said, smoothly cutting Mai's reply off.

"That'll be 475yen please." The boy said. Lin admired the fact that the obviously terrified (and with good reason) teen had refrained from stuttering. Mai looked at him in surprise as he paid.

"I can-" Mai started to stammer out but Lin cut her off once more.

"My treat." He said, smiling softly at her as he took their drinks to a table, Mai following mutely.

The rest of the afternoon went well, and the next day found him lugging a medium sized Christmas tree into the office. Those brown eyes had once again gotten the best of him.

_End Flashback…_

Unfortunately, he hadn't left in time to catch her before she paid for her warm, liquid treat. But Lin still walked in anyway and headed to the counter. Mai didn't even glance up from where she sat, now reading a book.

"Two hot chocolates, no marshmallows, extra whipped cream." He said, watching Mai out of the corner of his eye.

"475, please." The lady at the counter said. Lin handed her the money and nodded his thanks as he accepted the two steaming mugs. His long legs quickly carried him to where Mai was. Closer inspection showed the book to be Charles Dickens' classic 'A Christmas Carol'.

"I trust the book is good." He said, drawing her attention away from it as he slid one of the mugs to her. She accepted it mutely.

"You know, I owe you one heck of an apology. I was rude, jealous, and frankly just plain difficult. I really don't have any excuse, but I do think I have a solution." He said, watching his girlfriend nervously.

"Oh?"

"Christmas is coming up in a few weeks, and rather than visit my relatives, they're coming to see me. So, I was thinking, maybe you should meet them. Most of them already know who you are, and Mom has actually wanted to meet you ever since I told her about the Suwa case." He held his breath.

"And what will I be introduced as?" She asked him softly, taking her first sip of the coco he brought.

"Well, I was thinking, maybe," Lin paused, he had planned to wait till Christmas, but… "maybe as my fiancé." He pulled out the ring box that he'd compulsively carried around for the past two weeks. Mai blinked.

Lin stood up and walked around the table so that he was right next to Mai, who shifted in her seat, putting them face-to-face. He knelt in front of her and opened the box, revealing a small gold band with an emerald setting.

"I know it's not the traditional diamond wedding band, but you did say you preferred emerald." He said, a hint of a laugh in his voice, before growing serious.

"Taniyama Mai, will you marry me?" He asked. It was strange, the feeling he had. He was neither confident nor nervous; he was merely waiting. She nodded, tears welling up in her brown eyes. He sighed in relief and slid the ring on her finger before picking her up and spinning her around in his arms as the people in the café burst into applause.

"Wo ai ni, Mai, wo ai ni." He whispered into her ear.

"Ashiteru, Koujo." She whispered back, and hand in hand, the couple walked back to the office to relate the good news.


End file.
